TO BE STRONG: a side story of In Disguise
by canisa
Summary: (complete) Shounen ai. A side story of In Disguise. 3+4. 1+2 hardly mentioned.


Title: In Disguise --- side story --- TO BE STRONG  
  
Author: Canisa  
  
Pairing: ^___^;;;;; 1+2 and ?? guess?  
  
Warning: AU (NO GUNDAMS!!! Just the gw boys). Shounen ai. attempted sap. moderate violence  
  
Note: This story is inspired from yoshizumi wataru's manga. Well, at least the concept ^__^ have to do some changes to fit our GW boys in it ^__^;;;  
  
Archive:  
  
http://www.fanfiction.net author : canisa  
  
Side Story: To Be Strong  
  
It was not hard to figure out who he was, in relation to Quature Winner, as I watched the way he let Quatre latched onto him. The way he stayed by his side. The protectiveness. The compassion. It was all there, so bright that it blinded my eyes, The personal space between them shortened as I crawled even deeper into the darkness and drowned in my own lonesomeness.  
  
I was nothing.  
  
I was a "nanashi" to him.  
  
Deep inside, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later but I just did not realize that it could impact me at this.... magnitude. I did not realize that I could feel so much pain without physical harm.  
  
It was a entrapment that I was forever cursed to be locked in. I did not even realize when it had begun. I did not even know exactly where and how this curse was placed on me.  
  
I was trapped, in a love that can never be returned. And there was nothing that I could do to undo the magical impact he had on me. His gentle smile. His compassionate gestures. His soft and comforting voices. I played them over and over in my head like a carousel.  
  
I was deluding myself that I could perhaps claim Quatre as my own some day when I finally become strong and secure. But the dream shattered as "he" had appeared, out of no where today.  
  
I could still remembered this morning, the whole class was in awe of his handsome features as he walked into the classroom and stood in front of everyone fearlessly. His ever calm blue scanned through the class, not a trace of the insecurity or timidity which I had felt when I was transferred into this school only weeks ago. While the class flapped toward him, seeking his attention and friendship, I stood far away in the other side of the corner and studied him like I always do to everyone down to every single detail.  
  
The brown messy hair only accented the mystery and confidence in him. His firm blue eyes told nothing but the maturity and intelligence he possessed. His well-built body, though hidden from the public eyes, was betrayed by the way the short sleeves claying on his firm muscles.  
  
I felt small, miniscule even, though physically I was perhaps the taller of the two.  
  
I was speechless, even in my mind.  
  
Perfection was the word. This new student was everything I strived to be.  
  
I remembered that exact moment, I wanted to be friend with him, wanted to be like him. I thought perhaps I could borrow some strength and confidence so that I could finally confess to Quatre my love to him.  
  
That's why I followed him today, like a coward that I was. And I was properly rewarded with the most appropriate punishment.  
  
For the first time I learned what a heartache felt like. How foolish was I to think that my father had beat out all emotion from me? My fist clenched next to my heart as I watched the only sunshine of my life latched his arm with his. His brilliant smile that appeared million times in my dreams was directing at him. A playful smile, which had never seen before, lingered on his face as he whispered unaudible words into the new student's ears.  
  
Even from a distance of 50 feet or so, I could see the root of the new student's ears had turned into a slight shade of crimson. For once, I thanked to my father who had thoroughly trained me to be impassive even when I felt the highest degree of pain. My composure was calm as I turned around, ready to leave.  
  
"Trowa?"  
  
Could someone still breathe when one's heart was stopped?  
  
I turned around, shocked that my presence had been discovered but showed none of my true feelings outwardly. I only nodded politely at Quatre as he walked toward me, dragging the new student behind him. I noticed that his arm was still entangled with his.  
  
Millions of daggers ripped my already bleeding heart.  
  
"I did not know your house is this direction?"  
  
He smiled at me politely like he always did. The sunset behind him could not even compare with that smile.  
  
"It is not. He followed me."  
  
I turned to the new student, a hint of surprise well-buried behind my impassive face.  
  
"Heero!" Quatre laughed gently. "You are being too paranoid."  
  
I did not remember that was his name. The teacher had announced a different one.  
  
"Odin." The new student slide his arm out of Quatre's grasp as he emphasized. He watched me like a hawk, assessing and defeating me merely with his confident glare.  
  
It was terrifying.  
  
"Stop that, Odin."  
  
He was ever the Quatre I knew. I said nothing as he tactically wedged his body between Odin and me.  
  
"He is a friend. No one suspicious."  
  
Quatre smiled at me again, the stars up in the darkening sky was nothing compared to that.  
  
Odin gave me one last cold glare before he looked away, his eyes scanned at the dark corner of the street.  
  
"Want to come with us for dinner?"  
  
I shook my head.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
Quatre smiled at me for the third time. "Okay then... if you insist. I will see you tomorrow in class."  
  
I nodded again, drowning myself in his smile.  
  
"Oh Trowa?" This time, he smiled apologizingly. "Could you..." He paused. I had never seen him hesitate like this. "Could you not tell anyone about.. er... seeing us together like this?"  
  
I nodded. My heart shattered into pieces.  
  
  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
As I had thought before, Odin Lowell was superiorly athletic than anyone I had seen.  
  
I watched him effortlessly pulling his legs straight up in the air as he held down tight on the rings underneath him. He then let the gravity pulled his legs down and started to rotated around the rings, preparing for his dismount. He rotated faster and faster and then let go of the rings fearlessly. His legs maintained a beautiful straight line as he did a revolution and landed on the mat flawlessly.  
  
"Wow! he is pretty good, don't you think, Trowa?"  
  
The sunshine of my life sat next to me as he always did. His good nature had recognized my loneliness and wanted to keep me company. I wanted to tell him how much it meant to me but the words never reached my mouth.  
  
I nodded as he pointed at Odin excitedly.  
  
"But you are still number one in gymnastic though." He smiled at me brilliantly.  
  
I disagreed for the first time. "He is very powerful." I admitted and admired Odin. Only he, the symbol of perfection, could win Quatre's heart. "He is above me."  
  
"No." Quatre suddenly held his hands out and placed on my lowly hands. "Why do you always think like that? You don't know how amazing you are when you are up there." Quatre looked toward the direction of Odin. I had never seen him displayed a serious face like this. "He might be powerful. He might be strong. But your movement is much more smooth than him. Watching you doing gymnastic is like watching a beautifully calligraphed dance."  
  
If I could blush, I would.  
  
But to be honest, I was only half listening to him. For all I could think about was the warmth that traveled from his hands to mine.  
  
He must have finally realized that his hands were on mine for he suddenly withdrew.  
  
"Odin! You did great out there."  
  
I looked up and saw the criticizing glare shooting from Odin's eyes. I could sense that he distrusted me.  
  
I shivered.  
  
I had forgotten my place.  
  
I was nothing.  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*  
  
"Trowa!" Quatre smiled, holding his violin as he made his way to me and sat next to me on the empty chair. "You looked good."  
  
I shook my head. He was the one who looked good. The black tuxedo only accented his innocence. His silky blonde hair shined even more under the bright stage light.  
  
"I think they are going to draw the curtain soon, I should get back to my seat now." He smiled apologizingly, starting to make his way back to his seat.  
  
I shook my head and pointed to the off stage. "Concert master walked onto the stage after the curtain was drawn."  
  
"Oh that's right! I kept forgotten that this is high school now. " Quatre smiled again, carefully walking around the people and music stands. When he finally reached the off stage stairs, he threw a glance back at me. He mouthed the words silently, ''good luck on your flute solo."  
  
I nodded, acknowledging his wishes.  
  
The curtain was drawn and another set of bright lights suddenly attacked our eyes. The situation was odd. The lights was not supposed to be this bright. I squinted my eyes, searching for the stage light technician but the light was far too bright for me to see anything.  
  
The musicians around me did not like the discomfort either as they started to stir in their seats, their hands over their eyes, trying to get away the bright lights.  
  
Given up searching for the technician, I looked toward the off stage stairs, wanting to motion Quatre to look for the teachers to fix the light. But Quatre choose this moment to walk onto the stage, completely unaware of the situation.  
  
A small beam of laser red light suddenly danced off my flute and swiped across the stage toward Quatre's direction.  
  
My heart stopped as alarm went off in my head, realizing what the red light beam was. I really did not know how I did it but somehow, I jumped through people around me. Squinting and fighting against the bright light, my hand and feet collided with metal as I knocked down music stands on the floor. I felt nothing, driven by my impulse and instinct as I flapped away the flying paper in my way. People around me started to stand up, confused of my action. Someone told me to sit down but I ignored it as I picked up my body and launched toward Quatre. My hands boldly encircled him, pushed him down on the floor roughly. I heard him moaned in pain as he landed on the hard floor. But instead of apologizing to him, I forced his head down when he tried to turn around.  
  
At that exact moment, a loud gun shot was fired. And then another one followed only split second. The tremendously loudness echoed in the perfectly designed concert hall. It was then followed by a second of silence before people's scream took place.  
  
Covering Quatre safely under me, I was expecting pain on my back.  
  
But it didn't.  
  
I looked up confusedly.  
  
But I did not have time to hesitate or think because people around me already started to run. A complete chaos had erupted on and below the stage.  
  
People were pushing against each other dangerously. Chairs and music stands were practically flying. There were people crying and shouting as parents looking for their children and students were scrambling to get off the stage.  
  
"This way."  
  
It was very odd to hear such calm voice in the midst of chaos. I responded and stood up shakily, my hands were still encircling Quatre's body tightly. I could sense the poundings of my temple. I supposed it was an after- effect of the adrenaline rush.  
  
"Trowa, this way. Hurry."  
  
I looked toward the direction of the voice and discovered that it was Odin who was ordering me to go to his direction.  
  
I took a step toward him. But suddenly, out of the corner of my eyes, I spotted a smoking gun in Odin's right hand. I stopped abruptly and backed away in alarm. My eyes widened in anger as I clenched Quatre even tightly.  
  
"Trowa......" Quatre squirmed in my arms and painfully moaned out the words.  
  
Seeing that he had regained consciousness and was able to stand on his own, I quickly pushed him behind me, distancing him from Odin even more. My eyes blazed with anger. I bent and picked up a music stand next to me.  
  
To my surprise, Odin smirked.  
  
...which only angered me even further.  
  
Realizing what was on my mind, Quatre suddenly launched onto me from behind. "Stop, Trowa!!! What are you doing?"  
  
"He was going to shot you." I gritted my teeth. I have never heard so much hatred coming out of my mouth. "He was going to kill you."  
  
I felt Quatre tensed behind me. I gripped onto the music stand even tighter. I pointed the sharp edge of the stand toward Odin. "Stay away from Quatre." I shouted. "I cannot forgive anyone who tried to hurt him. I will kill to protect him."  
  
"No no!!" Quatre suddenly ran between Odin and me. "Trowa, you are mistaken!"  
  
"You are too late." Odin said calmly.  
  
Hearing the words, I immediately felt anger surged through my body. Irrationality took over as I launched toward him, brushing Quatre aside.  
  
Odin only watched me calmly. .  
  
As I continued to charge toward him in absolute rage, another red laser beam suddenly appeared on Odin's shirt.  
  
Odin continued to focused his eyes on me calmly.  
  
I stopped, watching the red laser beam traveled from his chest to his temple in astonishment. My mind spun furiously, trying to decipher the situation. I opened my mouth, words struggled to come out.  
  
Odin continued to look at my direction. He swiftly raised his arm, his eyes never taken off me as he pointed the gun toward the bright stage lights. He pulled the trigger without hesitation.  
  
The gun shot, again, echoed in the concert hall.  
  
A loud scream soon followed.  
  
"As I said, you are too late." Odin put the gun behind his ....spandex? "I have terminated the those trying to take my client's life."  
  
I blinked. My anger faded. In its place was complete confusion.  
  
"Trowa..." Quatre struggled to get back on his feet. Suddenly, I was aware that it was I who had pushed him so roughly onto the floor. "Trowa. Heero is.. I mean, Odin, is my bodyguard."  
  
I stood there dumbfoundly, watching Odin approaching Quatre.  
  
"Are you hurt?"  
  
Quatre smiled playfully at Odin. "Not from the shooter."  
  
I collapsed on the floor, the facts started to sink in.  
  
"Thank you for saving my life."  
  
I looked up and saw the smile on Quatre's face. The muteness in me returned as I shook my head, denying the words. Quatre was right the first time, the only one who inflicted wounds on him, was actually me.  
  
I lowered my head, feeling a wave of depression swiped over me.  
  
"I would have failed the mission if you did not push Quatre out of the way."  
  
I lifted up my head, just in time to see Heero knelt at the spot where Quatre was standing before I knocked him down on the floor. He fingered a small smoking hole on the hard wood floor. He dug a bit before he retrieved and help up a bullet shell. He directed his gaze at me. "You saved him."  
  
I blinked.  
  
"I was suspicious of you being the assassin. I was wrong." Odin said quietly.  
  
"I told you he was not." Quatre winked at Heero. Quatre suddenly froze in place as he glanced the clock. "Heero!! You are going to be late!"  
  
Odin spared a glance at the clock as well.  
  
"You better get going! Or you are going to miss Duo's flight! I had planned this moment for the longest time! And you are not wasting it." Quatre started to push Odin off the stage. "That idiot needs to suffer through a period without you and THEN he will treasure you like a piece of gold. This is the most effective way to cure that indecisive attitude of his....... "  
  
"The assassins could be still out there."  
  
Quatre smiled. "Trowa will protect me." He glanced back at me. "Right?"  
  
I only watched them with my blank stare.  
  
Odin assessed me with his stern blue eyes again. But this time, I did not shiver. I did not look away, either because I was too shock or because I no longer feel....small.  
  
"Quick, Heero. You really have to get going. I want you to be standing at that exact spot that I showed you yesterday. And I want you to remember his expression. Because you will need to tell me about it!"  
  
"Ninmu ryogai." Odin exchange a wordless communication with me before he confirmed and turned to leave.  
  
I was shocked.  
  
He had entrusted Quatre to me.  
  
Seeing that Odin had headed toward the airport, Quatre sat down on the floor next to me. His eyes looked to the far side of the dark concert hall. "You saved me." The energy he was displaying just before Odin's departure was suddenly gone. He whispered the words out, seemingly exhausted.  
  
I turned toward him, my arm automatically encircled his shoulder, pulling him close to my body.  
  
He followed my lead and buried his face against my chest. I put my other arm around him as well as his body started to shake.  
  
I let him be like that for a few minutes before I pushed him gently few inches away, just enough to see his tear-streaked face. My heart cringed.  
  
"I was scared......"  
  
"Everything is all right now." I whispered into his ears as one my thumb gently wiped away a drop of tear. "Odin had taken care of them."  
  
"No... you misunderstood again." Quatre suddenly looked up at me directly, his eyes glittered like dimond because of the tear in his eyes. "I was scared..." He sobbed."... because I thought you were shot."  
  
I froze, feeling his body tremble again.  
  
I could tell that the memory was coming back to haunt him.  
  
My body was trembling too. We were both trembling, except that I was trembling because of joy.  
  
He cared for me? He was scared because of... me?  
  
I bit down my lips. Words once again struggled to surface. Could I be wrong? Could I have mistaken what he was saying?  
  
Given up trying to get the question out and decide to go with the other route, I slowly leaned forward to his face. My body trembled even more as the gap between us shrunk even more but then I felt that Quatre had stopped trembling.  
  
"I love you."  
  
His sudden whisper shook the core of my heart. The broken pieces of my heart was held back into its place. I landed my lips against his like a butterfly on a soft flower petal. Registering no resistance but acceptance, I ventured and deepened the pressure of my lips against his. I savored the sweetness of him as he slightly parted his lips. I followed the invitation and soon found myself lost in his warm cavern. Our tongues danced against each other not for dominance but mutual harmony.  
  
I felt whole, complete. The shadows of my past were slowly driven away by the warmth he so generously offered.  
  
I withdrew and stared into his amazingly blue eyes.  
  
"I want to be strong for you." I declared, my arms holding his shoulder firmly.  
  
I saw his eyes blinked. And then I saw his beautiful smile started to spread wider and wider. He leaned against me again, resting his cheek on my chest.  
  
"You already are."  
  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-**-*-*  
  
OWARI  
  
  
  
DUO: **kicking and screaming*** where is my part!!! WHERE IS MY PART!!!!  
  
CANISA: ^_^;;;; gomen ne......  
  
DUO: I AM THE LEAD HERE!!! I AM THE STAR!!! WHY IS TROWA GETTING THE LEAD  
  
THIS TIME??!!! WHY??!!!! WHY??!!!!  
  
HEERO: BAKA  
  
DUO: SURE..... You don't complain, seeing that you get that cool part about shooting someone  
  
without aiming....  
  
WUFEI: Maxwell, quit complaining. at lease your name was mentioned. mine didn't even come  
  
up.  
  
QUATRE: Trowa!! *hug* you did so well for your first time!!!  
  
TROWA: *blush*  
  
CANISA: ^_^;;; at least some people are happy........ 


End file.
